Invasive Prosopis trees pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Several estimates have been made of the spatial extent of alien plant invasion in South Africa. The South African Plant Invaders Atlas (SAPIA) suggested that about 10 million hectares of South Africa has been invaded. However, the rate and spatial extent of Prosopis invasion has never been accurately quantified. The objective of the study is to use Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to: (i) reveal areas susceptible to future invasion, (ii) describe the current extent and densities of Prosopis, (iii) to reveal the spatial dynamics and (iv) establish the extent of fragmentation of the natural vegetation in the Northern Cape Province. Image classification products were generated using spectral analysis of seasonal profiles, various resolution image inputs, spectral indices and ancillary data. Classification approaches varied by scene and spatial resolution as well as application of the data. Coarse resolution imagery and field data were used to create a probability map estimating the area vulnerable to Prosopis invasion using relationships between actual Prosopis occurrence, spectral response, soils and terrain unit. Multi-temporal Landsat images and a 500m x 500m point grid enabled vector analysis and statistical data to quantify the change in distribution and density as well as the spatial dynamics of Prosopis since 1974. Fragmentation and change of natural vegetation was quantified using a combined cover density class, calculating patch density per unit (ha) for each biome The extent of Prosopis cover in the Northern Cape Province reached 1.473 million hectare or 4% of the total land area during 2007. The ability of the above mentioned Remote Sensing and GIS techniques to map the extent and densities of Prosopis in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa demonstrated a high degree of accuracy (72%). While neither the image classification nor the probability map can be considered as 100% accurate representations of Prosopis density and distribution, the products provide use full information on Prosopis distribution and are a first step towards generating more accurate products. For primary invasion management, these products and the association of a small area on a map with Prosopis plants and patches, mean that the management effort and resources are efficiently focused. Further studies using hyper-spectral image analysis are recommended to improve the classification accuracy of the spatial extent and density classes obtained in this study. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Invasive Prosopis trees pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Several estimates have been made of the spatial extent of alien plant invasion in South Africa. The South African Plant Invaders Atlas (SAPIA) suggested that about 10 million hectares of South Africa has been invaded. However, the rate and spatial extent of Prosopis invasion has never been accurately quantified. The objective of the study is to use Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to: (i) reveal areas susceptible to future invasion, (ii) describe the current extent and densities of Prosopis, (iii) to reveal the spatial dynamics and (iv) establish the extent of fragmentation of the natural vegetation in the Northern Cape Province. Image classification products were generated using spectral analysis of seasonal profiles, various resolution image inputs, spectral indices and ancillary data. Classification approaches varied by scene and spatial resolution as well as application of the data. Coarse resolution imagery and field data were used to create a probability map estimating the area vulnerable to Prosopis invasion using relationships between actual Prosopis occurrence, spectral response, soils and terrain unit. Multi-temporal Landsat images and a 500m x 500m point grid enabled vector analysis and statistical data to quantify the change in distribution and density as well as the spatial dynamics of Prosopis since 1974. Fragmentation and change of natural vegetation was quantified using a combined cover density class, calculating patch density per unit (ha) for each biome The extent of Prosopis cover in the Northern Cape Province reached 1.473 million hectare or 4% of the total land area during 2007. The ability of the above mentioned Remote Sensing and GIS techniques to map the extent and densities of Prosopis in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa demonstrated a high degree of accuracy (72%). While neither the image classification nor the probability map can be considered as 100% accurate representations of Prosopis density and distribution, the products provide use full information on Prosopis distribution and are a first step towards generating more accurate products. For primary invasion management, these products and the association of a small area on a map with Prosopis plants and patches, mean that the management effort and resources are efficiently focused. Further studies using hyper-spectral image analysis are recommended to improve the classification accuracy of the spatial extent and density classes obtained in this study. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The degree to which biotic interactions influence invasion success may partly depend on the evolutionary relationship between invaders and native species. In particular, since host-use by enemies such as invertebrate herbivores and fungal pathogens tends to be phylogenetically conserved, exotic plants that have close native relatives in the invaded range should be more likely to interact with enemies. In this thesis, I explore this idea using a series of experiments and field surveys at nested taxonomic levels. My results indicate that exotics from multiple plant families experience lower damage if their average phylogenetic distance from locally co-occurring native family members is higher. I then demonstrate that within the Asteraceae, foliar and capitular damage are lower on exotic compared to native species. Both damage types had a relatively large phylogenetic component, but did not decline with phylogenetic distance to native or exotic confamilials. Finally, I show that communities with versus without close relatives are unlikely to differ in resistance to the novel invader, Solidago virgaurea: biotic resistance imposed by competitors, generalist vertebrates, and specialist invertebrates resulted in similar patterns of damage and mortality regardless of the presence of congeneric natives. In some cases, effects of biota were positive: growth of S. virgaurea seedlings in soils collected near congeneric natives was enhanced more than in soils from communities where congenerics were absent. Overall, these results suggest that biotic interactions between exotic and native species can be phylogenetically structured, although trends based on distance measures tend to be weak. In some cases, damage does decline with phylogenetic distance to native species; however this trend is unlikely to be a strong force limiting invasion or structuring plant communities. These results have significant implications for current theories of invasion biology including the "Enemy Release Hypothesis" and "Darwin's Naturalization Hypothesis", as well as for community phylogenetics.

Orientador: Vera Lúcia Mores Rall / Abstract: Salmonella spp. é uma bactéria entérica, responsável por graves doenças de origem alimentar e um dos principais agentes envolvidos em surtos no mundo todo. A contaminação ocorre, principalmente pelo consumo de carne de frango e ovos, uma vez que esses animais podem ser portadores de vários sorovares patogênicos para o homem. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o potencial patogênico de 40 cepas de Salmonella spp., isoladas de esteiras de um abatedouro de aves, por testes fenotípicos de adesão, invasão e produção de biofilme e análise genotípica da presença de vários genes relacionados com fatores de virulência, além de verificar sua persistência no ambiente e sua susceptibilidade a antimicrobianos por disco-difusão. Foi observada resistência à tetraciclina (17,5%) ampicilina (10%), cefotaxima (7,5%), cotrimoxazol (5%) e cloranfenicol (2,5%). Todas as cepas apresentaram os genes invA, sipB, sipD, ssaR, sifA, sitC, iroN, tolC, flgK, fljB e flgL. Os genes sopB e sipA estavam presentes em 92,5% dos isolados, enquanto sopD e spvB foram observados em 90% e 32,5% das cepas, respectivamente. Todos os isolados aderiram e invadiram células HeLa, com índice de invasão variando de 1,4 a 73,8%. Com relação à produção de biofilme, 31 (77,5%) cepas foram capazes de produzir biofilme em microplacas de poliestireno. Pela técnica de eletroforese em gel de campo pulsado (PFGE), detectou-se a persistência de clones no ambiente por até 18 semanas, entre as 20 amostradas. Não foi possível o estabelec... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Resumo: Salmonella spp. is an enteric bacterium responsible for serious foodborne disease, being one of the main agents involved in outbreaks worldwide. Contamination occurs mainly by poultry and egg consumption once these animals carry some pathogenic serotypes for the human being. Our aim was to evaluate the pathogenic potential of 40 strains of Salmonella spp., isolated from poultry slaughterhouse mats, by adhesion and invasion phenotypic tests, and biofilm production, and genotypic analysis to identify genes related to virulence factors, besides we verified its environment persistence and its antimicrobial susceptibility by disc-diffusion. We observed resistance to tetracycline (17.5%), ampicillin (10%), cefotaxime (7.5%), cotrimoxazole (5%) and chloramphenicol (2.5%). All strains possessed invA, sipB, sipD, ssaR, sifA, sitC, iroN, tolC, flgK, fljB and flgL genes. The genes sopB and sipA was present in 92.5% of the isolates, while sopD and spvB were observed in 90% and 32.5% of the strains, respectively. All strains adhered and invaded HeLa cells, with invasion index varying from 1.4 to 73.8%. Regarding to biofilm production, 31 (77.5%) strains were able to produce biofilm on polystyrene microplates. The Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis technique (PFGE) detected the existence of clones in the environment for up to 18 weeks, among de 20 sampled. It was not possible to establish a correlation between adhesion and invasion rates and the presence/absence of effector protein coding ge... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Doutor

La perte de l’expression de la sous-unité β4 des canaux sodiques dépendants du voltage NaV dans les tumeurs mammaires est associée à un grade cancéreux élevé et au développement des métastases. L’extinction de son expression dans les cellules MDA-MB-231 augmente de plus de deux fois leur invasivité. Au cours de cette thèse, nous avons montré que la sous-expression de β4 favorise la transition mésenchymato-amoeboïde et augmente l’invasion cancéreuse indépendante de NaV. Cette transition se caractérise par l’acquisition d’une morphologie plus arrondie, par la présence de blebs à la surface cellulaire et par une augmentation de l’activité RhoA-GTPase. Cette transition est inhibée par la surexpression du domaine intracellulaire C-terminal de la sousunité β4. L’expression de β4 peut être augmentée par un apport en acide docosahexaènoïque (22:6n-3), qui augmente l’activité du promoteur de son gène SCN4B. Le DHA augmente également l’expression de β4 en modulant l’expression des récepteurs nucléaires PPAR, sensibles aux lipides. / The loss of voltage gated sodium channel NaVβ4 subunit expression in breast cancer biopsies is associated with high grade tumors and metastatic development. The inhibition of β4 expression in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells enhanced their invasiveness by two fold. During this thesis, we have shown that β4 underexpression promotes mesenchymal-amoeboid transition and increases NaV-independent invasion. This transition is characterized by rounded morphology, the presence of blebs at the cell surface and an increased RhoAGTPase activity. This transition is inhibited by β4 C-terminal intracellular domain overexpression. Expression of β4 can be enhanced by a DHA supplementation that increases the encoding SCN4B promoter activity. DHA also increases β4 expression through the modulation of PPARs lipid-sensitive nuclear receptors expression.

Species Lupinus polyphyllus is one of the most hazardous invasive species in the Czech Republic and its increasing occurence represents a threat of native biodiversity not only in the flora of conservation areas. Influence of management experiments on invaded communities was studied on permanent plots founded on three localities in the Šumava National Park. The role of nitrogen fixed in this invasion was explored by analyzing of soil samples. Influence of allelopathic inhibition of invasive species on some coexisting native species was tested in the laboratory experiment.

The main subject of the thesis is the interpretation and evaluation of the Soviet invasion to Afghanistan and its implications for forming the policy of the Soviet Union towards Central Asian states. Core chapters of the thesis will be the first two chapters. The first one deals with internal politics and the situation in Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s. The second chapter describes the region of Central Asia, devotes itself to the key moments of the Cold War that are taking place in this area and have had an impact on the very origin and course of Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. The last two chapters give an insight into the interpretation of the Soviet invasion through Western media, especially the US attitude towards intervention and their position and influence in the Central Asia region. At least, the outline of the current developments in Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries after the collapse of the USSR is the last, fourth chapter. In the diploma thesis, information on the formation of Al-Qaida and the Taliban will be mentioned. The impacts on Afghanistan and the countries of Central Asia will be described to September 11, 2001. In conclusion, there is a summary of the issue. Key words: Afghanistan, soviet invasion, foreign policy, the Central Asia

The success of an invasive alien species is often attributed to the ecological advantage gained from natural enemy release. Numerous factors have been suggested as contributing to the success of Harmonia axyridis as an invasive alien species, including enemy release. This thesis studied the interactions of several parasites with H. axyridis, investigating parasite transmission, growth and virulence as well as host immune responses, thereby shedding light on the potential role of enemy release in the invasion biology of this ladybird. Benefits gained by invasive alien species from enemy release diminish if parasites of native species shift hosts to exploit the novel invader. The fungal ectoparasite Hesperomyces virescens began infecting H. axyridis shortly after it invaded the UK, probably as a result of a host shift from Adalia bipunctata. This study found a rapid increase in H. virescens prevalence over three years in London H. axyridis populations. Laboratory study showed H. virescens transmission and growth to be more efficient on A. bipunctata than the novel host. In addition, reciprocal interspecific transfers of H. virescens strains isolated from A. bipunctata and H. axyridis revealed that the infection characteristics of the fungi from these two hosts differed, suggesting strains may have diverged after the initial shift from A. bipunctata to better exploit the host from which they were derived. Laboulbenialian fungi were previously thought to have negligible impacts on host fitness. A detailed examination of H. virescens infecting H. axyridis found distinct virulence, with infections resulting in a 50% reduction in host lifespan. In addition, chronic H. virescens infection in males caused acceleration in the age-associated decline in body condition while for females, infection triggered fecundity senescence and a faster age-related decline in fertility. While their role in accelerating ageing is debated, the results presented here provide evidence that infectious diseases can drive the ageing process in this insect species. In nature, multiple parasites affecting a single host are common. The effect of co-infection on the virulence caused by two fungal infections was characterised using H. axyridis and A. bipunctata hosts. The ability of two ladybird species to defend against an acute fungal parasite, while infected with the relatively avirulent H. virescens was found to be sex-specific. While for females, the presence of co-infection did not alter the virulence seen in singly infected females, a higher mortality rate existed for co-infected males compared with those infected singly. Previously, H. virescens has been considered to be avirulent, however, this study provides evidence that this chronic fungal parasite may be important when considering the mortality associated with co-infections in the field. The invasive success of H. axyridis has, in part, been attributed to a more vigorous immune ability compared with other competitor species. Previously, field studies have shown that the prevalence of the parasitoid wasp Dinocampus coccinellae in H. axyridis is considerably lower than in the UK primary host of this wasp, Coccinella septempunctata. The extent to which the prevalence asymmetry in the field is driven by differences in host encapsulation response was tested by first comparing the encapsulation ability of C. septempunctata and H. axyridis directed against an artificial implant. Following this, the encapsulation response of D. coccinellae parasitized individuals was assessed and compared between the two host species. While encapsulation ability did not differ between the host species, and D. coccinellae did not affect the immune response of H. axyridis, wasp parasitism did alter the encapsulation ability of C. septempunctata, although it was inconsistent across sexes and populations. Overall, this thesis furthers our understanding of the fungal parasite H. virescens and its association with the notorious invader H. axyridis. The research presented here also demonstrates the use of H. axyridis as a model system in areas other than invasion ecology and furthermore, contributes to understanding the role of infectious disease in the rate of ageing. Finally, sex-specific effects were found across the chapters of this thesis, demonstrating the use of H. axyridis in the study of sex-specific effects of infections.

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